Influence of Fluid-Dynamics on Heat Transfer in a Pre-Swirl Rotating-Disc System

Modern gas turbines are cooled using air diverted from the compressor. In a “direct-transfer” pre-swirl system, this cooling air flows axially across the wheel-space from stationary pre-swirl nozzles to receiver holes located in the rotating turbine disc. The distribution of the local Nusselt number, Nu, on the rotating disc is governed by three non-dimensional fluid-dynamic parameters: pre-swirl ratio, βp, rotational Reynolds number, Reφ, and turbulent flow parameter, λT. This paper describes heat transfer measurements obtained from a scaled model of a gas turbine rotor-stator cavity, where the flow structure is representative of that found in the engine. The experiments reveal that Nu on the rotating disc is axisymmetric except in the region of the receiver holes, where significant two-dimensional variations have been measured. At the higher coolant flow rates studied, there is a peak in heat transfer at the radius of the pre-swirl nozzles, associated with the impinging jets from the pre-swirl nozzles. At lower coolant flow rates, the heat transfer is dominated by viscous effects. The Nusselt number is observed to increase as either Reφ or λT increases.